


200 Degrees

by Chocchi



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, M/M, kind of pre-slash if you squint but mostly gen, spoilers for kanji
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-26
Updated: 2013-06-26
Packaged: 2017-12-16 05:34:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/858421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chocchi/pseuds/Chocchi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I mean, if Yosuke was complaining about sweat rolling down the back of his neck before they'd even walked all the way inside, it's gotta be pretty freaking hot in there, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	200 Degrees

“We can’t keep doing this,” Yosuke wheezes.

Souji frowns at him, but the effect is ruined when he has to shove his sweaty bangs out of his eyes. “Can’t keep doing _what?_ Looking for Kanji?”

“No-- well, maybe, I don’t know!” Yosuke scowls back. After pausing to wipe, disgusted, at the sweat trickling ( _oh god gross he hates this place_ ) down the back of his neck, he continues, “I mean, what’s the point of looking for Kanji if we’re all going to die of heatstroke before we get anywhere near him?”

“We’re not going to die of heatstroke,” Souji says.

“Jesus,” Yosuke says. “Do you not have nerves or something? How is this not _torturous_ for you?”

“You’re just being a baby,” Souji informs him, but Yosuke sees the way he’s shifting uncomfortably, dammit, and he’s not fooled at all.

“The girls agree with me,” he insists. “You’ve heard Chie whining about how sweaty her boots are getting.”

“Chie can suck it up,” Souji says, dropping down next to Yosuke on the stairs, “Unless she wants to go running around without anything to attack with that she doesn’t need Tomoe for. Why are you staring at Yukiko like that?”

“I’m trying to figure out how likely it is that she’ll kill me if I steal her fan.”

“That fan is a _weapon_ , moron.”

“It’s also a _fan_.”

“Stop complaining so much.”

“I’m _cooking_ here, partner,” Yosuke whines, flopping back against the stairs uncomfortably. “Stop and think about what we’re doing for a second. What did you call this? _Taking a breather?_ We’re all healed up, why are we still here?”

Souji just says, “I’m sure you have an opinion about it.”

“Because we’re all sweaty and tired and _overheating_ ,” Yosuke tells him. “We can’t go on like this.”

“You’re just mad because the steam fried your headphones,” Souji says, and yes, Yosuke is actually _very_ mad about that, but it totally wasn’t his point. The headphones he can fix later. Dying-- not so much. “Look, what do you want me to do here? Do you want us to abandon the search? Turn off the steam? I don’t know what you expect out of me.”

Yosuke groans pitifully, and yanks his glasses off so the sweat stops making them slide uncomfortably on the bridge of his nose.

“You’re going to make yourself sick.”

“I’m _already_ sick.”

Souji gives him a doubtful look and reaches over to lay a hand on Yosuke’s forehead.

“Oh,” he says. “I guess you really are pretty hot.”

Yosuke can’t even find the energy to make the easy joke, just stares sulkily up at the ceiling.

“Your hand,” he says, after a moment in which Souji completely fails to remove it, “Feels like a fucking _coal_ or something, why are you not commiserating with me?”

“I don’t know,” Souji says, thoughtfully. “I don’t really feel that hot.”

Yosuke sits up and sticks his hand against Souji’s neck.

“Dude,” he says. “You’re burning up.”

“I don’t feel that hot,” Souji repeats, starting to look vaguely concerned.

“Jesus,” Yosuke mutters, letting his fingers slide to Souji’s rabbiting pulse. “Isn’t this a sign of heat exhaustion or something?”

“What’s happening over here?” Chie demands, stopping at the base of the stairs. “Why do you guys have your hands all over each other?”

“I think Souji might actually be in danger of dying if we don’t get out of here soon,” Yosuke says.

“Don’t listen to him,” Souji tries to say, but Chie, for once in her damn life, takes Yosuke seriously and squints at Souji contemplatively.

“Why do you think he’s dying?”

“He says he doesn’t feel that hot anymore.”

“I dunno, dude,” Chie says, doubtfully. “You’re looking pretty flushed and hot to me.”

“So are you guys.”

“Yeah, but we’re acknowledging it.” Chie studies him for a minute longer. “Hey, Yukiko, does Souji seem like he’s dying?”

“Sensei’s dying!” Teddie cries, devastated, and Yosuke has to stick a leg out to keep him from tackling Souji. “Senseeei! Nooo!”

“Souji-kun?” Yukiko calls, concerned, coming to Chie’s side. “Are you alright?”

Souji grumbles, finally swatting Yosuke’s hand away from his neck. “You _win_ , we’ll leave, _okay?_ ”

“Okay,” Yosuke says. He staggers to his feet, cringing at the feeling of his sweaty clothes sticking to his skin, then offers Souji a hand and hauls him up, too.

Except then Souji overbalances and falls into him.

“Hngh,” Yosuke grunts, shifting to support him, then in an attempt to get him to support himself. “Hey, c’mon, man, don’t make me--”

“I think I’m going to pass out,” Souji says, faintly, hands clutching at Yosuke’s sleeves.

“Oh my god,” Yosuke says, and absolutely _does not_ freak out. “Oh god. Okay! Okay, buddy, just-- why don’t you lean on me-- Chie can you get his other side--”

“I can get him!” Teddie chirps.

“You couldn’t support a damn kitten,” Yosuke snipes, nodding gratefully when Chie takes the stairs two at a time to loop Souji’s left arm over her shoulders. Souji sways a little, and Yosuke catches Yukiko hovering frantically out of the corner of his eyes. “Come on, partner, let’s just-- we just need to get you up these stairs, and then we can teleport out of the dungeon and get you someplace nice and cool, okay?”

“‘Kay,” Souji mumbles, sagging more against Yosuke’s side.

“Okay,” Yosuke says. He exchanges a wide-eyed look with Chie, over the top of Souji’s head, and then takes a deep breath and says again, “Okay. Alright, one step at a time, Chie--”

 

“I really hate you right now,” Yosuke mumbles, mostly into his hands, when they’re finally, finally sitting in the shade at the covered table at Junes. “So much. Jesus.”

“I wasn’t going to die,” Souji says, stubbornly, even as he fishes another ice cube out of the cup Chie got him and holds it to the back of his neck. “It wasn’t _that_ bad.”

“What even happens if you don’t get out of the heat after you pass out from heat exhaustion,” Yosuke demands, letting his hands drop to the table, palms down. “Doesn’t your body just, like, _shut down?_ ”

“I-- I think it gets too hot for a lot of enzymes to hold the right shape,” Yukiko mumbles, clutching her soda like a lifeline. “So--”

“Ohmygod,” Chie whines. She lets her head drop onto her folded arms. “Ohmygod. I never ever want to go back in there ever again.”

“What about Kanji-kun?” Yukiko’s eyes go wide.

“We’ll _get_ to Kanji,” Yosuke groans, covering his face with a hand again. “ _After_ we figure out a system for surviving in his dungeon for more than thirty minutes at a time. _Christ_ , Souji, that was...”

“Not good?” Souji offers.

“Understatement of the year,” Chie huffs.

_I want to buy like a million ice packs_ , Yosuke thinks, staring through the cracks in his fingers at the table, _and cover you in them, and never let you go into the bathhouse again_.

Across the table, Souji continues to try to convince the girls that he’s fine. Yosuke keeps his thoughts to himself.

 

_From: Souji_

_We’re idiots._

 

_From: Yosuke_

_Speak for yourself, partner. What’s up?_

 

_From: Souji_

_No, I mean we’re really, really stupid._

 

_From: Souji_

_I thought of a partial solution to the bathhouse thing._

 

_From: Yosuke_

_Yeah?_

 

_From: Souji_

_Leave all our heavy jackets in the entrance._

**Author's Note:**

> Every time someone complains about how hot it is the bathhouse, I just take a minute to stare at them, because nobody on the damn team so much as mentions the possibility of removing any of their gazillion unnecessary layers of clothing even once.  
> In case it was super unclear, I picture this playing out on the last staircase in the dungeon, but technically it could work on any staircase in the dungeon I guess.  
> The title is technically inspired by the lyrics of Don't Stop Me Now by Queen.


End file.
